As a partner and IT consultant, PROTOS Technologie GmbH supports and advises DB Regio Bus on its path toward a climate-neutral ICT infrastructure. “We are proud that, together with our customer, we were able to create the foundations for future-proof and sustainable digitalization,” emphasizes Sebastian Ullrich, Managing Director of PROTOS.
DB Regio Bus, the bus division of DB Regio AG, contributes to climate protection. In 2022, the Deutsche Bahn AG Group was able to reduce its specific greenhouse gas emissions by more than 42 percent compared to 2006. By 2040 at the latest, the Group aims to be 100 percent climate-neutral. For DB Regio Bus, not only the transition to electric mobility and hydrogen-powered buses plays an important role, but also the modernization of the ICT landscape.
DB Regio Bus has migrated 99 percent of its entire application landscape from regional data centers to the AWS cloud and uses native and serverless cloud services as well as infrastructure as code to enable automated, standardized, and simplified infrastructure provisioning.
During the migration projects, applications were analyzed and modernized. This led to consolidation, optimized operating times, and resource savings. Through these measures, approximately 50 tons of CO₂ equivalents (tCO₂e – Scope 1 and Scope 2) were saved.
Demand-based use of the entire data center infrastructure and the reduction of unnecessary computing and storage capacities have also significantly reduced DB Regio Bus’s CO₂ emissions. The AWS Customer Carbon Footprint Tool is used to calculate the carbon footprint of the AWS infrastructure and to identify potential for further reductions. Between May 2020 and December 2022, ICT operations at DB Regio Bus achieved an additional significant saving of approximately 114 tons of CO₂ equivalents (114 tCO₂e) compared to operations on legacy infrastructures.
A climate-neutral IT infrastructure is a key pillar of our sustainability strategy. By optimizing operating times within IT processes, we were able to conserve resources and improve our carbon footprint.
Andreas Kempchen
Head of ICT Operations bei DB Regio Bus
By consistently migrating its infrastructure to the AWS Cloud, the overall balance of CO₂ equivalents can be neutralized within the next few years, as AWS plans to operate exclusively on renewable energy by 2025. Through the comprehensive modernization of its IT landscape, DB Regio Bus has demonstrated that sustainability and economic efficiency are by no means mutually exclusive. On the contrary, a modern, climate-neutral IT infrastructure can secure long-term business success and make a significant contribution to climate protection.
[1] https://nachhaltigkeit.deutschebahn.com/de/gruene-transformation/klimaschutz
[2] GHG Protocol Corporate Standard (Scope 1 – direct emissions; Scope 2 – indirect emissions, e.g. from electricity consumption)
